Queens Public Library Connection The Lefferts family was a prominent Dutch family in Brooklyn. The family's roots can be traced to the Dutch colonist Pieter Janse Hagewout, a farmer and shoemaker who emigrated from Holland with his family in 1660. Pieter died shortly thereafter, leaving his seventeen-year-old son, Leffert Pieterse (1650–1704), as head of the household. In 1687, Leffert purchased fifty-eight acres of land in Flatbush. By the time of his death in 1704, he had become one of the largest landowners in Kings County, amassing property across Kings and Queens Counties, Staten Island, and New Jersey. His children established distinct branches of the family: his son Peter Lefferts (1680–1774) inherited the homestead in Flatbush, while his son Jacobus Lefferts (1686–1768) settled on family land in Bedford Corners. The family went on to become influential in business and politics, with members founding banks and serving in Congress. This area in Queens was originally 200 acres of farmland owned by John Lefferts (1826–1893). In 1868, he sold the land to the developers of Richmond Hill for $59,944.80. The Lefferts Library opened in 1975.